Harvard Five

The Harvard Five was a collective group of architects — John M. Johansen, Marcel Breuer, Landis Gores, Philip C. Johnson and Eliot Noyes. All five attended the Harvard Graduate School of Design between the late 1930’s and 1950’s.

The students were influenced by the professor Walter Gropius, a leader in the Bauhaus movement and the head of the architecture program at Harvard. In 1937, after being forced out of Germany during the Nazi regime, Gropius brought the teachings of the Bauhaus to the United States. Regarded as one of the pioneering masters of “modern” architecture, he taught “form follows function.” His designs, epitomizing the contemporary design of clean, simple, nuclear spaces with lots of natural light, used industrialized building materials of the time. All five architects spoke of him as an inspiration in their work.

After the five completed their education from the Harvard Graduate School of Design, they migrated to New Canaan, Connecticut and went on to design a string of modern buildings. Their careers were in part devoted to building modern homes, creating an architectural experiment in the suburb of New Canaan, Connecticut. [ [http://www.purecontemporary.com/HomeMakeover/article/19] PureContemporary.com accessed July 2, 2006] The small town was soon nationally recognized for its many examples of modern architecture. About 80 modern homes were built in town, and about 20 have been torn down since then.

However there is still hope, as the Harvard Five began to wither a new group was born, often referred to as the second wave. This group includes such architects as John Black Lee, Hugh Smallen, Victor Christ-Janer, Alan Goldberg. These architects continued the modern design principles that were created in the Harvard Five.

[http://www.fairfieldcountybusinessjournal.com/archive/010906/topstory1.html] "Architect for All Seasons," by David Gurliacci, Fairfield County Business Journal, January 9, 2006.]

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